Protector of automobile door locks from the accumulation of ice



Aprll 1954 F. v. NALEVANKO 2,575,576

PROTECTOR OF AUTOMOBILE DOOR LOCKS FROM THE ACCUMULATION 0F ICE Filed March 27, 1951 INVENTOR. F. V. NALEVANKO BY 711M Patented Apr. 20, 1954 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE PROTECTOR OF AUTOMOBILE DOOR LOCKS FROM THE ACCUMULATION 10F ICE 4 Claims.

This invention relates to automobile door locks and particularly to the prevention of the accumulation of ice in the door look. This invention relates, also, to means for supporting the lock protector over the lock and for preventing scratching of the door by a person carelessly taking hold of the door handle. More specifical- 1y, this invention is concerned with the provision of a protector for automobile door locks of the type including an approximately horizontal, relatively fixed handle and a depressible plungertype lock unit.

In the drawings annexed hereto and forming a part hereof,

Fig. 1 represents a blank from which this protector is formed;

Fig. 2 represents one of these blanks upon being formed;

Fig. 3 represents an elevation of a protector applied to a door lock and handle;

Fig. 4 represents a perspective of the structure shown in Fig. 3; and

Fig. 5 is a cross-section substantially along the plane indicated by the line 55, in Fig. 3.

Reference will now be made in greater detail to the annexed drawings for a more complete description of this invention. A blank is formed from sheet metal, as shown in Fig. 1, and then this blank is shaped, as shown in Fig. 2. Preferably the lock protector 2 is attached to the back plate I and may be secured in the position shown in Figs. 2, 3, and 4 by welding, or by other means. The protector is curved to give more protection to the lock in keeping ice away from it. As shown at 3, the protector is provided with a notch which permits the curved sheet metal to be bent down more for greater protection to the look. This notch fits closely around the upper side of the lock handle.

The back plate I serves to protect the finish of the car door from finger nail scratches. The lock 5 conventionally includes an actuating bar, or the like, that extends into the interior of the car door through an opening I in the back plate I. The lock mechanism is conventional, as far as the present invention is concerned, and the unit 5 may be of any suitable construction, such as merely a push button door operator, a cylinder type lock, or a combination type in which the cylinder or barrel of the lock is depressible within the cylinder 6 of the handle 5 for opening the door. There is another opening 3 which receives a projection from the handie by which it is secured to the door of the car. Conventional-11y, also, the handle 4 includes an inwardly extending projection that is received by the back plate opening i. The two projections from the handle extending through the openings l and 6 in the back plate hold the latter immovable. The front edge 9 of the protector 2 is rolled over to stiffen this curved plate, and also make it less liable to injure the hand of the user.

This protector is for use, in particular, with cars of General Motors Corporation.

It is of course understood that the specific description of structure set forth above may be departed from without departing from the spirit of this invention as disclosed herein and as defined by the appended claims.

Having now described my invention, I claim:

1. A protector for the lock of an automobile door, said lock having an approximately horizontal handle adapted to be afiixed to the door and provided at one end with a substantially cylindrical lock-receiving section, said protector comprising an elongated back plate section having openings adjacent the ends thereof, one opening being larger than the other and adapted to receive a portion of the lock, and a curved hood section extending from the upper edge of said back plate section adjacent the end thereof having the larger opening, said hood section being curved arcuately about the axis of said lockreceiving opening in the back plate section and lying above said opening when the back plate is fastened to an automobile door underneath the lock handle.

2. A protector for the lock of an automobile door, said lock having an approximately horizontal handle adapted to be afiixed to the door and provided at one end with a substantially cylindrical lock-receiving section, said protector comprising an elongated back plate section having openings adjacent the ends thereof, one end of said back plate being curved arcuately about the center of the opening at that end, and a hood section afiixed to a portion of the upper edge of the back plate section at a portion of the arcuately curved end and bent arcuately and extended suiiiciently to lie above said opening and the portion of said lock received thereby when the protector is fastened in position on the automobile door.

3. A protector, as defined by claim 2, further characterized by said hood section being curved and shaped so that, when attached in place on an automobile door, the forward edge of said hood section is substantially in front of the lockreceiving section of said handle.

4. A protector, as defined by claim 3, further characterized by the rear edge of said hood section being notched to clear an adjacent portion of the handle.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 866,694 Stacy Sept. 24, 1907 1,218,789 Lovdall Mar. 13, 1917 1,244,494 Ankovitz Oct. 23, 1917 1,335,761 Sebold Apr. 6, 1920 1,568,579 Whiting Jan. 5, 1926 1,588,980 Mitchell June 15, 1926 

